Hundreds of new jobs to be created with £27m finance hub in Leeds

The Yorkshire Post can exclusively reveal that Australian-owned firm Link will move to Central Square, in Leeds city centre, creating a £27m centre.

A total 850 people will be based at the hub, with 450 existing employees in the region to be located at the Leeds site alongside the 400 new roles.

Link picked Leeds for the move after a nationwide UK search programme and currently employs circa 1,500 people in the UK and 3,000 across Europe.

Link Group is a provider of governance, administration, asset servicing support to both corporations and public sector organisations.

“Not only is this investment a clear demonstration of our commitment to the region, but it will also enable us to further enhance the services that we offer to our current and future clients.

“With a great university sustaining a strong talent pool, Leeds is hugely attractive for financial services companies.

“Bringing together our northern operations into one state-of-the-art central hub at the heart of the city will also allow us to attract and retain high quality staff.”

Link Group chose Central Square as the location for the new office after a comprehensive UK wide search.

It will be joining the likes of PwC, BDO and Crisp in the building located between Whitehall Road and Wellington Street.

The move has been warmly welcomed by business and civic leaders in the city, with the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Trade and Investment team and the Department of International Trade having provided Link with support in the decision-making process.

Councillor Judith Blake, Leader of Leeds City Council, said: “I am thrilled that Link Group has decided to create its new Northern Hub in our city.

“Link Group’s choice of the landmark Central Square office development makes a real statement of their intention to further grow the Link Group brand in the UK.

“I look forward to working with Link Group and to them becoming a keystone employer in our fantastic and thriving fintech sector.’

Roger Marsh chair of the LEP said the move was “a vote of confidence in the City Region that global brand Link Group has chosen to launch a significant presence here”.

He added: “I was delighted to welcome Link Group’s managing director, John McMurtrie, and his colleagues and hear about the scale of the ambition and plans to recruit 400 new roles by 2021.

“This adds further momentum to our financial and legal services sector, which is the largest outside London.”

The investment from Link Group follows decisions from broadcaster Channel 4 and global law firm Reed Smith to set up significant operations in Leeds.

Channel 4 has already begun recruiting personnel for its new headquarters in the city, which will be based in the Majestyk building near Leeds Railway Station.